


A Fine Line (Between Love and Hate)

by BugheadIsEndgame_03



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty Cooper backstory, Betty POV, Bi! Veronica, Bughead fic, Charles is dead, Complicated Backstory, Double Entendres, F/M, FBI agent! Betty, FBI agent!Archie, FBI agent!Cheryl, Flirty!Jughead, Fluff, Jughead POV, Police officer!Jughead, Police officer!Reggie, Police officer!Veronica, Police/FBI AU, Some angst, Team-building exercises, They are Awkward, Veronica is Reggie's ex, betty and jughead flirt-fighting, betty is not-so-sweet, bi! Archie, golden boy!Archie, mentions of other non-canon compliant pairings, multi-chapter fic, rivals to lovers trope, scavenger hunt, snarky!Betty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23104336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BugheadIsEndgame_03/pseuds/BugheadIsEndgame_03
Summary: A Bughead fanfic inspired by an AU created by @hbiccjsblog on Tumblr. Betty is training at the FBI Academy, and Jughead is in training at the police academy. They meet at a mixer for students from both schools to mingle and form alliances. They quickly become rivals, but after they are forced to work together for a team-building scavenger hunt, their feelings begin to change.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Kevin Keller, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge/Cheryl Blossom
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	A Fine Line (Between Love and Hate)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is my first fic that will be posted first on Ao3, and I'm very excited about it! This is the first chapter of a projected three-chapter fic, and I will hopefully be adding the second chapter next week! 
> 
> A huge thank-you to @hbiccjsblog on Tumblr for the idea and permission to write this fic! And for her assistance. I couldn't have done it without her! I would also like to thank @thesourthernpansy on Tumblr for her encouragement and advice! You guys are both awesome! 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this fic, it's been a long time coming!

Betty Cooper's feet pounded a steady rhythm along the rubber conveyer belt of a treadmill. Her blonde ponytail swinging madly behind her, she ran until her feet were just blurry shapes, and to any casual observer, it simply looked as if she was getting in some after-hours training. But to those who looked closer, it might have looked as if she was running from something. And she was. Every step she took, her mind flashed memories of her mother screaming for hours after finding a tube of red lipstick in Betty's vanity, of visiting her father's grave after he had been shot to death by the police at the end of their manhunt, of burying her brother after his dirty-cop partner killed him. Memories of losing her mother and sister to a cult after her serial-killer father's death, and of being all alone at the age of 17. 

She ran harder and faster still, letting the burn in her chest and legs take the place of the pain in her mind. She stopped only when the burning could no longer be ignored, and she bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to release her negative thoughts with each short breath that escaped from her lips. Try as she might, Betty had yet to outrun her past, although the endorphin rush didn't hurt in keeping her demons at bay. 

"Betty! God, there you are." Kevin Keller, her best friend at the Academy, stood panting in the exercise room doorway. "I've been looking all over for you! I guess I should've looked here first, all things considered. It's been a rough day." Kevin looked at her sympathetically. Betty started to get her things together, and answered. 

"Yeah, it has. I can't believe that they think putting a bunch of prospective police officers and FBI agents together in one room AND on a series of "team-building exercises" is a good idea. Nothing good ever comes from mingling with police." Betty said, still frustrated from the earlier meeting where Agent Andrews had announced they would be hosting a mixer for the two sides to form alliances and "make friends". There was no way this was going to be a good time. 

"Listen, Cooper. We need to make connections. You know that! I know that you hate police, because of all the horrible shit that happened with your brother, but you have to put that aside for the sake of your career. If you piss off all of the police officers in our jurisdiction, you're gonna have a hell of a time when we have to team up with them on cases. This is getting in your way." Kevin said, trying to appeal to his friend's sensible side. It needed to win out over the jaded side if they were gonna have any chance of forming alliances. Betty sighed. 

"I know you're right, Kev. I'll be civil. But after Charles....", Betty trailed off. After a moment, she said, "Well, you know. I just don't think I can ever fully trust a cop." Betty finished putting her workout gear in her gym bag, and slung it over her shoulder. 

"Civil is all I'm asking. You might even have fun!" Kevin grinned at Betty as they walked out of the exercise room, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"As if."

"Okay, Cher." Kevin couldn't stop himself from the Clueless reference, and Betty laughed. 

"Hey, what do I wear to a "semi-formal" mixer anyway? I'm guessing that my usual jeans-and-sweater uniform won't exactly cut it." Betty asked.

"Not to worry, Cooper. I consider myself an expert on semi-formal mixer attire." Kevin said, taking on a bad French accent and a faux haughty expression. 

"Great, I feel so much better!" Betty said sarcastically, with both her and Kevin cracking up at his antics.

Two days later, Jughead Jones was leaning against the wall of the FBI Academy common room, trying not to look as fish-out-of-water as he felt. His best friend on the police force, Veronica Lodge, had went to get them some drinks. As he waited, his eyes surveyed the room and they caught on a beautiful blonde that was standing with a brunette young man who looked much happier to be here than her. He knew she had to be FBI, because he knew all of the police officers here, and he wouldn't have forgotten meeting her. As soon as Veronica came back, he asked about her.

"Hey Ronnie, who's the blonde with the sour expression?" Jughead asked. Veronica was extremely well-connected and knew pretty much everyone. They knew her too, thanks to her extremely wealthy family and famous mob boss father. Taking him down was one of the main reasons she became a police officer. 

"Oh, that's Betty Cooper. You've really never heard of her? Suuupeer sad backstory. And by super sad, I mean Lifetime special levels of messed up. Her dad was a serial killer who tormented her and her friends in high school, her brother was a cop, but he got killed by his dirty partner while working undercover, and her mom and sister are in some kind of weird cult. She was basically an orphan at 17." Veronica looked at Jughead's expression, and shot him a look. "Absolutely not. Don't even think about it! I heard she's got a serious grudge against police, because of what happened to her brother! I mean it, Jug. It's NOT a good idea.

"Oh come on, she can't be that bad. Sounds like she's been through a whole lot of shit, that would make anyone a little prickly. She's probably just annoyed to be here, like the rest of us. Besides, the whole point of this stupid thing is to make connections, right?" Veronica nodded apprehensively. "Well, that's all I'm doing."

"Good luck, you're going to need it. That girl might look sweet and pretty, but there's a rumor that she tried to drown a guy in high school. I mean, he was a huge douche but still." 

"Hey, lucky for me, she's on the right side of the law now. She can't drown me if she wants to be an FBI agent, no matter how much she might be inclined too. I'm going in." Jughead winked at Veronica, and she crossed herself behind him.

Jughead made his way over to where Betty and her friend were standing, and once he stood in front of her, she looked him up and down and raised her eyebrows. 

"Police, huh? Is there a reason why you felt the need to come talk to me?" Jughead was a little taken aback by her abruptness, but quickly recovered. 

"Uh, yeah! Sorry, I was just getting to that. I'm Jughead, and that's my friend Veronica over there," Jughead motioned to where he had left Veronica, "and we were just saying it was probably time to do what we're supposed to be here for." He said, a little awkward and rushed, feeling intimidated by her. 

"Right, I know Veronica. Well, know OF her I should say. Former mob princess/wealthy socialite/spoiled daddy's girl, now a soon-to-be police officer. Your friend really is the whole package." Betty smirked, her words weren't said completely unkindly, but there was an note of condescension. 

"Um, sure, but she's really an awesome person once you get to know her." Jughead looked over at her friend, who had been previously silent, bobbing his head back and forth between the two of them during their conversation like he was watching a tennis match. "I'm sorry, I haven't caught your name." The young man came alive, offering a hand.

"It's Kevin. Kevin Keller. I've been Betty's best friend since our first day at the Academy. Sorry about her brusque manner, she's just a little unhappy to be here is all." Kevin looked pointedly at Betty, and elbowed her. "Isn't that right, Cooper? Tell the polite officer that it's not about him." Betty gaped at Kevin, but then acquiesced. 

"Yeah, Kevin's right, I'm sorry. I'm not what you would call, the biggest fan of the police force. But just for tonight, I'm trying to be civil. So, do you have a last name to go with that incredibly unusual first name?"

"Oh, right! It's Jones. And the name is actually a nickname, my real name is incredibly stuffy and inherited. I hate it, so the nickname "Jughead" kind of stuck when I was a kid."

"Cool. Hope you don't expect me to trade stories of my childhood with you, because I can assure you, mine isn't so charming." Betty gave him a tight smile, and he continued to try and overcome her cold attitude. Jughead thought, THIS is civil?

"No, I don't expect that. And you still haven't actually introduced yourself, either."

"I assumed you'd already heard all about me from your friend over there, when you were pumping her for information." Betty looked at him smugly. 

"Right, I forgot all you FBI agents are big on all of that "I can observe body language better than you" shit." Jughead had quickly left behind his attempt at being the bigger person, because he had a feeling that fighting with Betty Cooper would be a lot more fun than pandering to her. Kevin cleared his throat and interjected. 

"Uh, I think I'm going to go over there and do....anything else." He quickly excused himself to the bar area, and Betty and Jughead were left alone. Neither seemed too inclined to notice his absence.

"Excuse me? Are you saying that we're prideful? Because I've never seen anyone more stuck on themselves than a police officer. You all think you're a bunch of heroes, when really, most of you do more harm in a community than good, and we're all stuck with cleaning up your messes." Betty was getting fired up, who did this arrogant son of a bitch think he was? People were starting to pay attention to them, and Kevin and Veronica were doing their dead-level best NOT to. 

"Cleaning up OUR messes? We do all of the actual work, while you guys prop your feet up in an office somewhere doing paperwork and making all of our lives hard as hell. Having to deal with people like you is one of the worst parts of being a police officer. If the government could keep their noses out of our damn business for one-" Betty cut Jughead off, raising her voice.

"We HAVE to get involved, because you dumb-asses can't stop screwing up long enough to do your damn job! And as for a cushy government job? We put our asses on the line just as much, if not MORE than you lot do, so don't you dare act like you're better than us!" Betty yelled at him, and pretty much the whole crowd was looking at them now. Which meant, their respective captains had also caught wind of it. 

"Oh, we don't have to ACT like we're better than you, BECAUSE WE ARE. You know what, I can't believe that I came over here to talk to you because I thought you were pretty and I wanted to get to know you better. What the hell was I thinking?!" Jughead ran his hands through his hair exasperatedly, and Betty looked like a deer in the headlights. 

"You..what?" She said, quietly. 

"You heard me. But that's a distant memory now. I can see that we would never get along long enough to HOLD AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION!" He yelled.

"FINE! I'm glad you see now what I've always known. Police officers and FBI agents can NOT get along, and they definitely can't be friends." Betty crossed her arms, huffing at him. Damn it, he thought, she looks absolutely amazing angry. Her cheeks were flushed red and strands of hair had fallen in her face, and even through his rage he felt the urge to tuck it behind her ear. He shook his head to clear it. What the hell is happening to me? 

"Fine. I'm sorry I tried!" Jughead forced himself to say, and then stalked away. He finally took notice of the crowd that had gathered, as did Betty. Both of them flushed, it's one thing to fight, another to have an audience for it. He absolutely couldn't believe that he had gotten into it with someone after like five seconds of knowing them. Never before had anyone provoked such a visceral reaction from him. He had a feeling that this wasn't the last time he was going to get laid into by Betty Cooper. 

In the back of the room, unbeknownst to all parties, the police captain, Marty Mantle, and the FBI captain, Fred Andrews, were putting together the teams for tomorrow's scavenger hunt. After seeing Betty and Jughead's display, they were struck with an idea. 

"I think this is gonna work", Captain Andrews said to Mantle. 

"Me too. By the end of the day tomorrow, Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones will be singing each other's praises." Mantle responded. 

They had NO idea what would happen next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I know that this is a little different and that there's not a lot of actual Bughead content in this chapter, and also I apologize that it's kind of short, but I really needed this chapter to define their relationship as rivals. The second chapter will be the scavenger hunt, and hopefully I can put that up next week! 
> 
> I'm going to introduce more characters in the next chapter, and go a little further into Jughead's backstory! So stay tuned! And let me know any suggestions you might have for the following chapters! 
> 
> Check out my Tumblr, @notyourbae365, and my other works on here!


End file.
